How may the Home Front’s awareness of the war’s objectives and nature be characterized?
Finland can be categorized as a very unique case, because it was aligned with Germany yet they were never an official member of the Axis Powers because it never signed the Tripartite Pact. However, the Finnish were never a strong supporter of the Nazi ideals therefore they never followed in the anti-semitic objectives of the war. Additionally, the Finnish government was well aware of the Soviet objectives of expansion in the war and encountered their zealousness in the Winter War in 1939, therefore they aligned themselves with Hitler in order to avoid annexation by the Soviet Union. Therefore, Finland was aware of the Axis objectives, specifically Germany, but chose not to be aligned with them and was mainly in relations with Germany for protection.
How did propaganda affect the mindset at home?
A major aspect of the propaganda was from the Finnish people to the Soviet in order to deter attack on Finland and encourage the Soviets to surrender.
“Comrades! Look on these photos and you’ll get an idea how amazing the lives of the Soviet soldiers that surrender to the Finnish troops are!” “First we treat their wounds”
“There is plenty of food in Finland! First we take the food to the kitchen, then in the kitchen our chefs in our white uniform cook delicious meals!”
Therefore, the mindset at home was one of compromise and desperateness in terms of the Soviets. The Finnish were using ever tactic they could to deter invasion from the USSR and this was evident in their use of propaganda. What were the direct contributions of the Home Front to the war effort? This needs to go beyond a cursory statement of, “They supplied soldiers, grew food, made armaments, etc.” You should consider support not only in patriotic or industrial terms, but also political, social, economic, cultural/intellectual, moral/religious, emotional, etc., terms.
Home Front was a collaboration between the labor unions, civilians, Civil Guard, Lotta Svard, political parties, and the regular army. All men were fighting in the regular army in order to protect the homefront, while the elderly, children, and women took the place of men in the factories, the agricultural work, truck drivers, and the medical professionals at the hospitals. Additionally, the women would make the clothing, such as socks and sweaters, for the soldiers and they learned to run the machinery that made the ammunition for the rifles and cannons. They learned these skills because they would stand on rooftops and search for enemy aircrafts, therefore they themselves were immersed into the war.
The Homefront can be divided into three categories:
The Lotta Svard - the women’s auxiliary corp that were trained in medical duties, spotting enemy aircraft, delivering mail to the soldiers, switchboard operators, provided food to soldiers in war zones
The Home Army of Civil Guard - worked in clothing manufacturing and distribution, worked with fire departments, police, air raid wardens, coastal scouts, and as aircraft spotters
And civilian volunteers plus regular army troops who worked behind the front line while recovering from wounds who provided medical and emotional support
What were the costs & benefits of the war to the Home Front, to include but not limited to goods/services/resources? Use a case study to illustrate.
Area north of Lake Ladoga and the Karelian Isthmus
Goods - The war was detrimental to the Finnish economy, the war elicited a financial burden imposed by the cost of maintaining one-half million troops in the field for several years and by the requirement to pay the Soviets reparations in kind worth US $300 million. This caused the loss of economic goods and the loss of value in their goods as well. For example, Finland was a leading producer of pulp, a component of explosives, but the Soviets annexed approximately 80% of Finland's ability to produce pulp. The territory ceded composed approximately 11% of the land and 30% of the Finnish economy.
Services - There was a dip in the service industry as a result of the males leaving their industrial jobs. Additionally, approximately 86,000 Fins died in the war, leaving their to be a major loss of people to fulfill the service jobs at the end of the war.
Resources - Finland was able to defend themselves in against the Soviets in the Winter War, but had to make small secessions of territory to the USSR in order to fend them off completely, therefore they lost the resource of land and the resources held by that land, notably their nickel mines. However, they were aligned with Germany and received resources from the Nazis because of their proximity to the USSR. Additionally, Finland was forced to allow Russian to annex approximately one third of Finland's capacity to produce hydroelectric power, therefore eliciting a 20% shortage in the Finnish industry.
How can life for women & youth on the Home Front be characterized? Use case studies to illustrate
Studying the capital of Finland (Helsinki)
Women were part of the described homefront and were a huge part of the contribution to the war effort. They were very influential and an integral part through the Lotta Svard. The organization included 60,000 members in the 1930s and included 242,000 member by 1944, therefore illustrating the women’s important role in the war effort. Moreover, women were seen as strong individuals, which is evident by their training in artillery and authorization to use artillery.
Children had less of a focus on their involvement than women, but still were crucial aspects in the Civil Guard and in replacing the males in the factories and other missing positions.
Works Cited:
Cook, David. "The Review of Economics and Statistics." World War II and Convergence84.1 (2002): 131-38. JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/3211743>. Forster, Kent. "Finland's Foreign Policy 1940–1941: An Ongoing Historiographic Controversy," Scandinavian Studies (1979) 51#2 pp 109–123
How did propaganda affect the mindset at home?
- A major aspect of the propaganda was from the Finnish people to the Soviet in order to deter attack on Finland and encourage the Soviets to surrender.
- “Comrades! Look on these photos and you’ll get an idea how amazing the lives of the Soviet soldiers that surrender to the Finnish troops are!” “First we treat their wounds”
- “There is plenty of food in Finland! First we take the food to the kitchen, then in the kitchen our chefs in our white uniform cook delicious meals!”
Therefore, the mindset at home was one of compromise and desperateness in terms of the Soviets. The Finnish were using ever tactic they could to deter invasion from the USSR and this was evident in their use of propaganda.What were the direct contributions of the Home Front to the war effort? This needs to go beyond a cursory statement of, “They supplied soldiers, grew food, made armaments, etc.” You should consider support not only in patriotic or industrial terms, but also political, social, economic, cultural/intellectual, moral/religious, emotional, etc., terms.
What were the costs & benefits of the war to the Home Front, to include but not limited to goods/services/resources? Use a case study to illustrate.
Area north of Lake Ladoga and the Karelian Isthmus
- Goods - The war was detrimental to the Finnish economy, the war elicited a financial burden imposed by the cost of maintaining one-half million troops in the field for several years and by the requirement to pay the Soviets reparations in kind worth US $300 million. This caused the loss of economic goods and the loss of value in their goods as well. For example, Finland was a leading producer of pulp, a component of explosives, but the Soviets annexed approximately 80% of Finland's ability to produce pulp. The territory ceded composed approximately 11% of the land and 30% of the Finnish economy.
- Services - There was a dip in the service industry as a result of the males leaving their industrial jobs. Additionally, approximately 86,000 Fins died in the war, leaving their to be a major loss of people to fulfill the service jobs at the end of the war.
- Resources - Finland was able to defend themselves in against the Soviets in the Winter War, but had to make small secessions of territory to the USSR in order to fend them off completely, therefore they lost the resource of land and the resources held by that land, notably their nickel mines. However, they were aligned with Germany and received resources from the Nazis because of their proximity to the USSR. Additionally, Finland was forced to allow Russian to annex approximately one third of Finland's capacity to produce hydroelectric power, therefore eliciting a 20% shortage in the Finnish industry.
How can life for women & youth on the Home Front be characterized? Use case studies to illustrateWorks Cited:
Cook, David. "The Review of Economics and Statistics." World War II and Convergence84.1 (2002): 131-38. JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/3211743>.
Forster, Kent. "Finland's Foreign Policy 1940–1941: An Ongoing Historiographic Controversy," Scandinavian Studies (1979) 51#2 pp 109–123
Kregel, Marshell. "Finnish Home Front during WWII." Finnish Home Front during WWII. N.p., 2007. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.kevos4.com/finnish_homefront.htm>.